A Tale of Four Novels

Charles Dickens once stated, "My faith in the people governing is, on the whole, infinitesimal; my faith in the people is, on the whole, illimitable."(Fido 102), this is certainly reflected in A tale of two cities, which is a historical novel written by Dickens that outlines the events of the French Revolution through the story of a French aristocrat named Charles Darnay. Darnay is a Parisian aristocrat that renounces his aristocracy in order to pursue a new life in London where he falls in love with a woman by the name of Lucie Manette after escaping prosecution for treason due to the help of barrister named Sydney Carton. In Paris there is an uprising among the citizens known as the French Revolution, which is caused by the bourgeoisie’s idea that the “destination of the high is the involuntary homage of the low” (Dickens 146). They are a group that seeks to exterminate the bourgeoisie in order to gain freedom and get revenge at the same time. The central theme of man’s search for power is present in A Tale of Two Cities and is recurring in many works of literature including Hamlet, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and 1984.

In A Tale of Two Cities the primary conflict is the revolution in which the proletariat aim to overthrow the bourgeoisie in an effort to gain freedom as they are oppressed and in a state of poverty. Dickens has previously stated numerous times that he supports the French Revolution; however he did not support the manner in which the citizens approached revolution. Dickens comments on his views in the third book, when he describes what Lucie observes "There were no fewer than five hundred people, and they were dancing like five thousand demons." (Dickens 338). Dickens uses the imagery of demons to describe ...

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...xford: Oxford University Press, 1998. Print.

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